Metalhead Ron DeSantis: “America’s Governor” gives Metallica and Guns-n-Roses the highest rating.

The first Gen X CEO of Florida enjoys the music he was exposed to as a child.

Pop music, according to many, peaked while individuals were coming of age, and Florida’s governor is no exception.
However, he has a preference for full-length metal albums.
Ron DeSantis remarked, “If I had to choose between albums from the mid-to-late 80s vs. the early 90s, I’d take ‘Appetite for Destruction’ and ‘Master of Puppets,'” alluding to the first Guns N’ Roses full-length and a Metallica recording from their heyday.
Both of these albums’ lyrical themes might not have been suitable for Ron DeSantis’s young, impressionable mind, and they probably wouldn’t have passed a parental content challenge if they had been available in public school libraries at the time.
For instance, “Mr. Brownstone” from “Appetite for Destruction” discusses heroin addiction. Additionally, a number of other songs, such as “It’s So Easy” and “Welcome to the Jungle,” discuss topics far more obscene than a vulnerable child should have been exposed to.

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The morality of Metallica’s lyrics is also under doubt.
The use of illegal drugs is described in “Master of Puppets.” A reflection on mental disease can be found in “Sanitarium.” “Disposable heroes” implies that combat veterans’ sacrifices were in vain. Additionally, “Damage, Inc.” contains a four-letter word that, according to Federal Communications Commission guidelines, is inappropriate for radio play.
Additionally, DeSantis asserts that music released between 1995 and the present are far superior to those released in the three decades prior to that year.
Before launching into an enthusiastic defense of several genres, DeSantis asserts that “if you compare the music/bands from the last 30 years (1995-2025) to the previous 30 years (1965-1995), it isn’t even close.”
Pop stars like Michael Jackson, mainstream rock bands like U2, metal legends like Metallica and GnR, the emergence of southern rock like Skynyrd, epic country from Johnny Cash to Waylon, the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, and Hendrix from 1965 to 1995, Elvis was still in the building, the beginning of alternative rock, etc. plus a lot more. He continues, “That era’s music has stood the test of time and will continue to do so.”

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Another user on his arbitrary delineation challenged DeSantis’ claim that the best music came from the 1990s, and he responded with a list of performers.
Before 1996, some of their names were well-known, including REM, Tracy Chapman, Tom Petty, Boyz II Men, Dr., and Snoop. DeSantis stated, “so they can be included in the earlier era as well.”
There are also intriguing interpretation possibilities in this remark.
Did DeSantis like REM’s more pop-oriented songs from “Document” onwards or their older work?
Did Chapman’s allegedly seditious “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” offend him as a conservative?
Which period of Tom Petty’s career was his favorite, too?
Is he familiar with “Motown Philly” lyrics?
Last but not least, how did he manage to balance his right-wing worldview with the nihilist, frequently pornographic ideas and lyrics of “The Chronic” and “Doggystyle”—including the anti-cop song “One Eight Seven”?
Additionally, he expresses a genuine fondness for 1991 rock music.
In a tweet featuring cassette cases for Metallica’s self-titled album, Pearl Jam’s “10,” the Guns and Roses’ “Use Your Illusion” double album, and commercial successes from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, and Nirvana, DeSantis stated, “It was an epic year — and it marked the evolution from metal/hair rock towards grunge/alternative rock.”